Historically, Manchester City has been an irrelevant club in English football. Overshadowed by their neighbours—Manchester United—City was known for choking in big moments and never winning trophies. In 2022, they have completely transformed into the best footballing side in the world. Since the Abu Dhabi United Group purchased the team in 2008, City have won six out of fourteen league titles, with four of the most recent five. Manager Pep Guardiola has been credited with the recent success, but many rival fans would point to City’s expenditure and transfer policy as the reason why they have been successful. But one thing everyone can agree with is that City has turned the Premier League into a one-team league.
When I refer to a one-team league, I refer to a league where one team is consistently and comfortably in first place for a long period of time. We would classify the German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1 and Scottish Premiership as one team leagues. Generally speaking, the Premier League has been dominated by a top six. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham have taken turns winning the league, but never has a team won as many league titles in as little time and clear dominance as City has. In the 2017-2018 Premier League season, City won the league with a record 100 points, a record 19 point gap from second place, and a record 32 wins out of 38 games. They are truly a juggernaut.
The investment from the Abu Dhabi United Group is a distinct advantage in world football. Only Paris-Saint Germain, the dominant team in Ligue 1, comes close. Ownership has spent over €2 billion since they took over the club. Investment has flowed not only into the team via the purchase of star players, but also critical club infrastructure such as the Etihad Stadium, training grounds, medical facilities, and the scouting department. Meanwhile, their rivals have been cutting costs and generally operate in a state of organizational chaos. Guardiola has been manager since 2016. Chelsea are on their fifth manager since 2016 and Manchester United their fourth. Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham have not been able to have similar levels of investment due to debt concerns and general penny pinching by American ownership.
Not only does City spend, they also spend wisely. City do not go for the mega transfer. Florentino Perez, the chairman of Real Madrid, has popularized the concept of the Galactico. Galacticos are likely to be the best players in the world, thus commanding world-record transfer fees. Real Madrid holds the status as the most prestigious and valuable football club in the world, allowing them to consistently make world-record transfers. City is not even the most valuable football club in their own league, but with an owner willing to take mulligans on transfers, City is able to consistently buy star players without crippling their finances. They are unlikely to spend €150 million on one player. Instead, they will spend €150 million on three players, thus increasing the quality of their team while concurrently spreading the risk of failure.
There is no other team in the Premier League that is able to hold players worth over €50-€100 million on their bench. Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said that his champion would be City, but that City’s B team would likely finish within the top four. Guardiola always has a lot of toys to play with, and he has effectively deployed them to historic successes. But for anyone who is not a City fan, honestly it is a little boring. As of 31 October 2022, Arsenal topped the league table. City are only two points behind and looking highly efficient with superstar striker Erling Haaland arriving from Borussia Dortmund for €60 million this summer. Liverpool are starting a transition. Chelsea are chaotic. Manchester United are in their third transition period in three years. Tottenham have not invested enough to compete with City. Arsenal may lead for now, but their young team will fumble eventually. City should win their fifth title in six years. It is historic and unprecedented, but with all due respect: Do we still care?
